She spotted him through the window as he strode up the path and hurried outside, her face breaking into a smile. "Qrow!" she called, pulling her cloak tighter around her against the brisk spring breeze.

They met at the edge of the clearing and Summer gave Qrow a firm hug, made only a little awkward by the bulge in her belly. Qrow put his arms around her shoulders and squeezed back.

"It's good to see you," Summer said when they broke apart, in that particular sincere tone of hers that assured that she meant it.

"I was just here a few weeks ago!" Qrow teased.

"And it was good to see you then, too," she replied with a grin. "Besides, when you used to spend every day with someone, three weeks is a long time."

They began walking back up the path, giving Qrow a better view of the clearing in the forest where his former teammates now lived. "I like what you've done with the place," he said, looking up at the freshly painted wooden house. He smirked. "I assume Tai had nothing to do with it."

Summer laughed. "I forbade him from doing any of the construction work himself. This is all from the carpenters and housemakers in the village." She swept a hand past the new addition to the second story, a large room that was going to become the nursery. "But he's made up for it all in the garden," she continued, gesturing to the multiple planters full of dark soil. Qrow thought he could see little green shoots already poking up, bright spots against the black. "Turns out he's got quite the green thumb."

"Well, well," Qrow said drolly. "I never would have guessed. I'd have thought the only green thumb you'd see from Tai is if he whacked his hand with a hammer."

"All right, enough," chided Summer as she pushed the door open. "It's not fair when he's not here to defend himself."

Qrow followed her inside and looked around the living room. No furniture and bare walls, but already there were a few photographs resting in their frames on the mantle of the fireplace. He stepped over to take a look, and picked up the one that was most familiar: the photo of the four of them in their second year at Beacon. Demure Summer, laid-back Tai, ever-ready Raven, and a younger, confident Qrow. A Qrow who had possibly been trying a little too hard to look cool.

The presence of his sister sent a brief rush of bitterness through his mind. Even with all of her so-called reasons, how could she do this to them, expecting the other three to clean up the mess? Had she really expected Summer to come in and mother Raven's own daughter? It had been more than a year by now.

At the same time, a quite wisp of loneliness coiled through his stomach, knowing he had made his own choice to stay, just as his sister had decided to go.

But even with that marred accent on his mood, his grip on the frame was light enough. The photograph was still a snapshot of a positive time, and that was worth keeping. Those were Summer's words, even as she had stepped in to take on Raven's roles as well as her own. He still kept his own copy of the photo in the inside pocket of his jacket.

Summer poked her head out of the kitchen. "I'd offer to get you something to drink, but we're not exactly well-stocked at the moment. Given that we're still moving in and all."

"A glass of water would be great," Qrow replied. He set the photograph back on the mantle and strode over to the kitchen, taking in the empty chairs and lack of a table. "Where is Tai, anyway?"

"He took Yang to the playground," Summer explained. "They'll be back for dinner." She handed Qrow his water and he drained half of it before leaning back against the counter. "She's not really old enough to do much on her own yet, but she loves being around the other kids." She smiled fondly down at her belly. "Soon she'll have a little playmate at home, too."

Qrow couldn't help but smile as well. It was what you did: smile at your friends who were happy to be pregnant.

He cleared his throat. "I didn't get to ask last time, but you've picked names by now, right?"

"Hong Xiao Long for a boy," Summer answered, still looking downward. "Ruby Rose if it's a girl."

"Ruby Rose, huh?" Qrow tried out the name. "Has a nice ring to it."

Summer looked back up and grinned cheekily. "Why, thank you."

There was a lull in the conversation, and Qrow looked out the window. The Rose - Xiao Long house was set a little ways into the forest, which had greened brilliantly after its winter slumber. The afternoon sun shone right through the kitchen window, illuminating a patch of floor. Even without furniture, Qrow could feel the difference between this place and his old apartment in Vale. This was a home.

"Classes at Signal start up again soon, don't they?" Summer said into his thoughts.

"Uggh," Qrow mock-groaned. Summer gave him a look. "I still can't believe Tai talked me into that."

"Aw, come on," she countered. "You're not even gonna be a full-time teacher. You just have that elective class on Advanced Weapon Construction."

Qrow took another swallow of water. "I don't know how he does it," he said, letting admiration into his tone. "He doesn't just keep his kids in line; he actually manages to teach them something. And they like him."

"At least with Tai at Signal I know he'll be safe…"

Qrow looked over. A shadow had fallen across Summer's face.

"It's been well-established," he said, trying to gentle his tone. "A group of four is much more effective than two or three. Oz won't be sending us on any of the really dangerous missions."

But Summer just looked at him with leaden eyes. Leaden silver eyes. And Qrow sighed and looked away, because even without Raven Team STRQ was special. Had started special, because of its leader's nascent abilities, and then became even more so with his and Raven's…gift.

Tai was the only one of them who had the chance of living a normal life, and in some sense he had taken that option by becoming a teacher. But Tai would never walk away from them. From any of them.

"You know, you're right," Summer said, her tone almost back to normal. "Tai is great with kids. He can deal with the teenagers at Signal, and he comes home to take care of Yang. He's already such a great father, and I know he'll continue to be."

"It's a skill I've never had," Qrow agreed. The best he could do was treat the kids he worked with as adults, but that wasn't quite the same as what Tai did. "It's like he can recognize where he is and where the kids are and then bridge that gap anyway. And he's been able to do it for every age group I've seen."

"It's a skill I've never had!" Summer exclaimed, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly. "I'd never really thought about being a mother. I mean, it wasn't how I expected my life to go when I was in school. Or at least not yet." She looked down at her belly once more. "And now there's nothing I want to be more in this world."

For a moment there was a look of peace on her face. Then, suddenly, it crumpled, and with a sudden sob Summer threw her hands to her eyes. Qrow was there in an instant, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and guiding her to one of the chairs. "Whoa, hey, whoa, Summer. What's wrong?"

She sniffed, and for a moment Qrow saw the anxious 18-year-old he had met in the first week of classes at Beacon. "It's just…it's just—" She took a shuddering breath. "I'm so happy, Qrow. I feel like I've gotten everything I could ask for. How can I feel that when she left us? How can I be happy like this when I know Tai still misses her, and yet I don't feel even a bit of jealousy because I loved her too." She laughed through the tears. "She was a brash, arrogant firebrand, and somehow she became my best friend. And now…I know she was the one who left, I know, but she was suffering, Tai is suffering, you're suffering, and here I am, so happy in a messed-up world. Isn't that…isn't that…"

She finally ran out of words and buried her face in her hands again. Qrow tried to be reassuring as he held her shoulder tight. "That's why we do it, Summer," he said as gently as he could. "That's why we become Huntresses and Huntsmen, to make the world a safe place for people to live their lives and be happy. And that applies to us as well. Trust me, there's nothing that does better for me than seeing you happy, and seeing how you make Tai happy."

He wasn't even thinking about how his younger self would have scoffed at the romanticized description of Hunters. Somewhere along the way it had become true for him as well.

"And Yang," Summer went on. "How can I just…step in like this? What right do I have to call myself her mother?"

Qrow twitched, then immediately regretted it when he felt Summer tense as well. "That's something for you and Tai to work out," he said carefully. "But…maybe think of it this way. You do know why our surname is 'Branwen'?"

Summer lifted her head slightly and gave a tiny nod. "She told me once. It's because you're all part of the tribe, and raised by the tribe, and not just by your parents."

Qrow felt another twinge of loneliness, but pushed it aside. This was about Summer. He nodded in confirmation. "Raven may have given birth to Yang, but the ones who are raising her are you and Tai. And she will love you." He stopped and thought about it. "Actually, I'm sure she already does."

The tension slowly drained from Summer's shoulders, and she wiped her eyes one more time. Qrow lowered his arm, relieved. It seemed for once he had managed to say the right thing.

"You're going to be a great uncle," Summer murmured. Qrow's eyebrows shot up, and then he couldn't help breaking into a smile.